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Thursday Poll: Interested in a Smartwatch?

About 365 days ago, we asked our lovely community if they were interested in getting a smartwatch. Out of roughly 6,500 answers, 37% of folks were flat out against having a wearable device, 36% were still on the fence, and 27% were definitely interested in getting one. Since 12 months has passed, it’s time we test the waters and see if anything has changed.

Since that time, the Galaxy Gear has hit the market, there has been an explosion in popularity for the Pebble, and a few other competitors also hit the shelves. Companies like Apple, Samsung, and even HTC are reported to be releasing new wearables this year, so whether you want them or not, they are coming.

The only smartwatch that has caught my eye has been the Razer ‘Smartband’. That’s something I would consider.

JMonkeYJ

The wrist devices that look most interesting to me are the new crop that sit somewhere between the very basic health monitoring bracelet and the Gear-like smartwatches. I wasn’t interested in smartwatches until this hybrid breed started being announced. I’m still not totally sold, tho.

Daeshaun Griffiths

Yeah. I want it to track my workouts. Not just running, but count my reps, read my pulse. I want it to be security. Replace my car keys, house keys, all types of keys. Let it be my password. Let it be connected to my home for lights and sh!t. Let me make gestures to my tv, the watch/band being the wii remote. Have a good alarm system for reminder and waking me up. We don’t really want to talk on a watch or squint my eyes to see instagram pictures. That’s not cool. Google, let’s go. I’m ready. I’m f#!$%*g ready. (yes, i preordered nymi. i hope it doesnt kill me)

pd240

I have faith that Samsung will get it right this time.

KidFlash1904

Love my pebble. Definitely a good purchase for me. I love a smart watch that can constantly display information, even if it’s just the time. And I recharge it once a week.

RoboCop

I’m testing the Mota Watch in a few days. Then I’m hopefully getting the Martian Passport, but I’d like a smart watch that does Google Now and phone calls. Don’t need to do fb statuses or send emails on it.

Alex2190

i preordered a pebble steel as soon as i saw it…i dont know much about the eco system, but i like the way it looks, and look forward to tinkering

paul_cus

Yeah, still no. I like having girls talk to me.

Ben Landwehr

If you’re good looking and/or confident and talkative, a watch shouldn’t deter girls from talking to you. I flaunt my geekiness and they simply find it silly, but overall don’t care in the end. Plus they won’t know 99% of the time unless you actually tell them.

calculatorwatch

Apparently you missed this Samsung commercial which clearly shows that a smartwatch will turn even the sleaziest chairlift creeper into a babe magnet:

I’m not a big fan of accessories in general, but at the right price with a metal band, I might consider a smartwatch.

Travis Walls

I always have my smartphone on me when I’m out and about, but I almost never look at it unless there is something specific I need to do, like answer a call. An example is me at lunch with my co-workers, and I’m the only one who doesn’t have my phone out until the food arrives. I get so many random text messages from things like Facebook and Twitter throughout the day, that I can’t check each time because it would drive me crazy. Same for the hundreds of e-mails from work. Unfortunately, once in a blue moon, I’ll get a message I would have rather not ignored from a friend or family member.

I like the Motorola Connect function that came with the Moto X, because I get desktop messages for new texts. Between that and Hangouts, I can basically go the whole day without looking at my phone while I’m at work. That doesn’t cover the other times though. Having a smartwatch has fixed this whole situation for me. It has given me peace of mind without having to change anything. New messages on my wrist, and I can check them with a simple glance.

There are other benefits like getting instant and relevant weather information, controlling music in the car, screening calls in meetings, quickly checking into places on Foursquare without firing up an app and getting tons of other distractions before/after, etc. These things may not matter to other people, but they’re what make it great for me. It is one of those things you could easily do without, but you often wonder how you did once you have it.

As for a specific smartwatch, I am currently fond of the Pebble. I was one of those iSheep who tried rocking an iPod nano as an “iWatch” for a bit. That didn’t last long. Having to re-charge each day, not being even kinda water resistant, having to push a button to see the screen, etc. were all annoyances that got old fast. Obviously, it wasn’t being marketed as a watch, but the fact that they included a slew of pretty watch faces seemed to suggest they weren’t against the idea of it being used that way either. This leads me to the fact that there was no way to customize this experience beyond what Apple provided, and the only way to get data on the watch was by syncing with iTunes using a USB cable.

Fast forward to the Pebble, with the ability to go several days up to a week without recharging thanks to the display and wireless technologies employed and the ability to wash my hands or get caught in a Summer monsoon rainstorm (LOL Florida!) without instantly voiding my warranty. I’d be happy with that, and so the ability to customize things on my watch and get rich data from my phone and the Internet leaves me very happy with this smartwatch. I’m sure there are others that do such-n-such better, but I’m happy with the balance that was struck by Pebble so far.

http://www.chasehammer.com/ Chase Hammer J

the ONLY way I would get one is if it were under $50…nay probably $30

AlexMWilliams

I’m interested in what it could be. I’m not interested in what it presently is.

whoa

Waiting on Motorola or Google to drop one

http://www.youtube.com/#/mrjlwilliams J. Williams

Waste of money, when still need to use your phone anyway.

mcdonsco

Liking the pebble steel, much higher quality device than I expected, except for the metal band, it’s kind of cheap.

Just can’t believe while other devs have put appas together that work for pebble and default android email apps, pebble themselves have not…makes no sense to me.

Also, the bluetooth connection drops frequently but pebble told me they are aware of the issue and expect to release an update that fixes it soon.

Anyway, I much prefer simplicity for a smart watch than a crap load of functionality requiring charging it daily. I just want it to help me keep my phone screen off and phone in my pocket more (and thus getting more battery life out of the phone, as well as quicker response times to emails/texts in case I miss it in my pocket.

Tanson

Said no, but would have to see what happens… Maybe Google or Apple will make one that works.

crazed_z06

Got a Refurbished Gear for Christmas for 200 bucks on Ebay.. Gf had bought me the Pebble, but it was appalling cheap, so we returned it and got the gear for 50 bucks more. Truth be told, it’s actually pretty nice. There are a few tweaks that could be made to it, but otherwise it works great. Very convenient at the gym, or at work.. Dont end up pulling your phone out during lectures or work meetings all the time.

Jordan

I love the potential a smart watch has. Having notifications on your wrist is incredibly convenient. I’d like to see them move more into tracking your health too. My ideal(realistic) smart watch would be quite similar to the Pebble Steel, but would also do more for tracking health(integrating with a sleep tracker/smart alarm clock for example).. & would have Moto X style voice commands. The microphone is always within shouting distance, especially when driving. it just makes sense.

yummy

Dont let the wife leave home without one!

jak_341

Looking at the Galaxy Gear 2 or a Pebble. I just want something that can show notifications, change music tracks, and have many different faces. Don’t need a GPS, camera, or anything intensive.

AUSTEEEZZZ

Have a Fitbit force and I love it. Could be a bit better but I definitely enjoy

Brandon Golway

No since I don’t wear watches.

Justin Fosco

Waiting on my Hot Watch that i kickstarted. Using a pebble right now and love it

Rodeojones000

I am very much interested. I’ve nearly bought the Sony Smartwatch 2 a couple different times, as well as a Martin Passport. I’m waiting to see what this coming year brings us, but now it’s a matter of when not if.

One thing is certain, it won’t be the Galaxy Gear. No watch that requires you to also own a crappy TouchWiz device is worth buying.

http://twitter.com/geoff5093 Geoff Johnson

Waiting on the Razer Nabu

Matthew Elvey

Why does the UI of the 80’s Casio Data Bank watches still surpass those of all the contemporary smartwatches?

The keyboard on the Data Bank (which had two letters per key) was great, largley because the first letters the keys were far more common in English than the second letters on the keys. It was fast and never crashed or needed recharging; the battery lasted for over a year. Can’t say any of that for any smartwatch since. WTF? I’d love to see something like the Casio Data Bank with bluetooth-enhanced capabilities.

kurichan

waiting for my pebble steel pre-order to ship

enigmaco

I like metal band watches and I have only seen one smartwatch with that, I know I can switch the band by myself but that is added expense. I can’t justify the price of these watches, can’t justify the phone prices either but this is less of a necessary.

tu3218

I want that wrist band item you guys posted a month or so ago that displayed notifications like the Pebble watch. Plus it also calculated the exercise statistics like fit bit. That’s what I want! Haven’t heard anything about it recently. Anyone know what I’m talking about? It was still in beta stages I believe.

miri

Sounds like the Razer Nabu.

tu3218

yup that’s it! thanks.

XvierX

I voted no but I’d be interested in a smart band. What happened to the Razer band?

Al-Burrit0

Smart watch no but on the fence about Google glass

Tyler

Voted no because i don’t like wearing a watch. But if I was interested in one, it would have to integrate with google now, last over a week on battery and have a premium look like the new pebble steel.

Vetal

where is the motoactv?

sralj

Waiting to see what Google comes out, if and when.

Rolfi Polanco

Waiting for something as good as the moto actv

Dylan

I don’t know why it wasn’t more popular. The only thing I find it lacking is wireless audio syncing.

Jason Sean Pucilowski

Just got home with a Pebble. Bought a metal wrist strap on Amazon. I was hesitant, but I’m very content with my purchases. $150 is a little steep for me to justify the cost, but luckily I had some gift cards lying around which ended up only totaling me around $50 for it.

http://idle0095.com/ IDLE0095

I own them all. Keep going back to the GEAR. Rose GOLD Baby

KleenDroid

Please explain your experiences.

Jason Peters

No, but only because I don’t wear watches, really.

Jarred Sutherland

Same here. I’ve had some nice watches in the past, but after a few days I don’t wear them mainly due to since I was old enough to own a cell phone I’ve had no need for another time piece. That said, smart watches don’t interest me at all. If I want to see who’s calling I’ll just get my phone out of my pocket.

John Legere

Im interested in everything except Galaxy Gear.

http://idle0095.com/ IDLE0095

Hey the Gear is awesome John. The SM2 is good as well. I really like that one. Lets see what the GEAR 2 brings.

John Legere

Something that’s locked down will never be good.

yodatom10

i also found it way to heavy

http://idle0095.com/ IDLE0095

The weight is not to bad. The Sony Smart watch 2 isnt to heavy. I wonder how heavy the Pebble Steel is?

yodatom10

the total spacial size is less than the original pebble. Probably depends on what band you use

http://idle0095.com/ IDLE0095

Still Samsung is doing some nice stuff. Just need to not rush it.

John Legere

They aren’t doing anything nice. Overpriced, overbloated, no use. No thanks. Bring on other OEMs.

http://idle0095.com/ IDLE0095

Well yes bloat is crap but now with the google agreement I dont think we will see all the crap. Lets see if Samsung changes. Next is Verizon. No contracts and cheaper plans.

John Legere

This year wont see a change. Unless Google has been speaking to them for the past few years,

http://idle0095.com/ IDLE0095

Lets see what the S5 brings and then we can judge. Still I will buy samsung over every other phone. HTC sucks. Motorola isn’t any better. LG is nice.

Ryan

I do because I go some places where I cant pull out my phone. So this way I can see what it happening and decide if I need to step away or not. Basically a notification tool not full on phone. I also dont want to charge it every night with my phones.

yodatom10

my pebble easily made it through 7 days and I would say i get more notifications than the average user

Ryan

I have a Sony smart watch 2 and get a week if I turn it off overnight. That works great for me. No special frills and I feel the UI is cleaner than the Galaxy Gear.

CoreRooted

Same here. I actually can’t remember the last time I charged my Pebble. I think it was about 9 days ago. Battery life on it is awesome.

robbinwhitford10k

One of the absolute best new Smart Watches is from SmartQ Devices – with its Z-Watch (priced at $155) – that compares to the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Watch 2 but nearly have the price – SmartQ Z-watch launched in December and now already offers an update, with Android 4.4 Kit Kat along with the ability to work with both Android phones and Apple iPhones to handle phone calls and views texts and schedules; the SmartQ Z-Watch features an advanced 1Ghz processor, full color high resolution touchscreen display. a walking/running pedometer, sleep analyzer, and more. Smart Devices is also planning to launch an official App store in March.

TabletMaxx – is one of the first sources to offer the new Kit Kat edition and also adds in premium headsets and an extra watch strap as part of the package.

Nexoduss

Thanks sales rep. Gtfo

jacobrileyf

I bought the SmartQ Z-watch last month — check XDA developer forum and you’ll see that this watch tech features blow the Pebble watch out of the water for the same price point

http://twitter.com/geoff5093 Geoff Johnson

Same here. When I coach soccer as well I use the timer to keep track of how much time is left in the half, it’s a lot easier to take a quick glance at my watch than pull out my phone, unlock it, go to the timer app, all while hoping I don’t hit the wrong button. Watches still have their use.

garrett

i’m really looking forward to the razer nabu, really seems to fit all of the wants i have when it comes to a wearable

Kelly

I’m on the fence because I’m waiting for sensors to mature. I won’t buy into the current “augment your smartphone” smartwatch–I just don’t see the convenience of not having to pull out my phone as worth the cost of a smartwatch. However, as they continue to build watches that can do things my smartphone can’t–e.g. heart rate monitoring–and do them well, then I’ll start paying attention.

Shawn John

Agreed. All the wearable tech should get incorporated into a Smartwatch, all your Fitbits, Fuel bands, Heart rate, etc. All those features need to be included when you start talking about “Smart Watch”. Just mirroring what’s on my phone is not that intuitive to me. I like the Qualcomm Toq’s technology also, but prefer a Nexus smart watch.

Thomas

The Pebble Steel has for sure peeked my interest, but still on the fence regarding the whole smart watch topic.

miri

Considering what’s available, not in the slightest. If something ever has the right mix of design and functionality I may reconsider. I don’t want something that replaces my phone or has me endlessly fiddling with it so that I don’t have to pull my phone out of my pocket but rather something that has value on it’s own as a watch/wearable device that just happens to relay glance-able info from my phone (if at all). The closest thing so far is the Razer Nabu but it’s kind of ugly, imo and given the price I have my doubts about the material quality.

yodatom10

bought a pebble a few weeks back I LOVE it its increased my battery easily by 50% as i’m not constantly turning on and off my screen

Shawn John

I’m definitely waiting on the Nexus Smartwatch, hopefully when the Nexus 6 get’s released well get the Smartwatch combo package. PLEASE dont have an on/off button. Watches don’t have on/off buttons. And Pebble can keep it’s crap to iOS.

John Legere

Cool concepts, but that won’t happen. Unfortunately.

Shawn John

Really? Well see. I don’t see Google standing on the sidelines any longer without one of these in the Eco System.

John Legere

They may make a smart watch, i just meant it won’t look anything like your pictures.

Shawn John

Those are not my pictures, these were concepts released by Google….Duh

John Legere

Show me where Google officially released them. I believe they were fakes.

Shawn John

I believe your a fake.

John Legere

So now you’re just going to troll?

Btw, it’s you’re*

Shawn John

Not trolling, Your impersonation is corney. Dont mean to name call, just calling it like I see it. No hard feelings.

John Legere

How does talking about smart watches turn into usernames? Move along and take your trolling elsewhere.

Shawn John

You offer no insight into the post, you just reply with useless rhetoric and call me the troll. Where’s your evidence? People like you waste bandwidth on forums.

John Legere

I asked YOU for evidence. Then your went with your insults. Don’t worry, i flagged your comments. Stop cluttering the comment section.

Shawn John

Stop wasting bandwidth log off and go read a book and comeback with some insightful reply’s.

Adrynalyne

Now that we have settled on petty personal insults, allow me to offer something equally petty:

It is “you’re”.

Shawn John

Thanks Professor.

Adrynalyne

That is Dr. Adrynalyne to you, sir.

Shawn John

Yessir.

Steveo

This is actually funny. Because he is a fake.

Adrynalyne

I can’t really see something that large and unwieldy being very popular.

Shawn John

That’s a close up, it’s not going to be the exact dimensions, that’s a mock up.

Adrynalyne

I know its a mock up, thats why I don’t think it will look like that, even if it wasn’t close up.

ceejw

Pebble was never iOS only it’s alway been on both platforms and it’s always been way more functional when connected to an Android phone. Is that Nexus watch concept something you actually want? Whats the point of having a phone if the watch runs full Android. Neptune is already making that watch and it looks terrible http://www.neptunepine.com/

CoreRooted

I have to agree with the Neptune Pine. While I LOVE the features, the device is huge. Basically, it’s a phone on your wrist. While that’s awesome and all, I just cannot see having 2 lines on my account for my watch and my phone. I think that if the Pine was able to do all the features it has, but still utilize the phone for calls, sms, and data tethering AND have a much smaller footprint, I would be interested in it. Otherwise, I cannot see me wearing it.

Brandon Golway

I’d buy one if it looked like that. If it doesn’t have a power button how would you propose turning the screen on and off?

CoreRooted

Smartwatches should never have power buttons. The Pebble (which I have right now) has no power button. The screen is always on and I still get at least a week between charges.

Brandon Golway

Yea, but the Pebble is E-Ink so it uses very little power. These are LCD screens which would last maybe an hour or two if they were left on constantly. You never answered my question though, if it wasn’t e-ink and didn’t have power buttons how would you turn the screen on and off?

CoreRooted

Apologies. LCD smartwatches *could* implement the same technology as the LG G2 does with its “Knock On/Off” feature. Or perhaps implement the use of the accelerometer for power on/off. However, I have found that accelerometer based on/off is flakey at best. One of the things I knock the Pebble for is the backlighting feature based upon that sensor. On mine, it seems hit or miss.

Kevin

It’s going to be Nexus 5 2014 edition not 6.

j

lol.. nexus smartwatch.. rofl. seriously. lol

Mark

Not interested. I have a beautiful Swiss watch, and I have a nice smartphone. Each has its own place. However, my dad, the math professor, used to always have a scientific calculator watch at the ready. Depends on your needs – He’d probably love this!

Interested? Yes. Everyone is. Right time? Not at this moment. No one has put out a watch for the masses yet.

Ben Murphy

On the fence here, really waiting for something to make my mind explode.

Good_Ole_Pinocchio

Pretty open ended question. It really depends on what happens over the next year when the Googles and the Apples decide to do something, because we know that’s really when the competition will heat up.

cjohn4043

I’m waiting to see what Apple and Google bring to the table.

maysider

Apple will hardly have the “time” feature with an universe price
Google will come late again also without features

useless to wait

But Samsung could improve Gears significantly soon and
Pebble are very capable (but ugly) but waiting for bluetooth 4

tyguy829

pebble definitely has bluetooth 4.0

maysider

really? I will check that, thx
I didn’t mention microUSB, it should be a must

http://www.techmantis.net/ Minja Miketa

And if you think it’s ugly, which I don’t agree with, check out the new Pebble Steel.

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